Shiva Shiva Shiva Shambho. Mahadeva Shambho.

I started my day by going to the Petrol Station on my nearly empty tank. The one I usually go to was closed. It’s the one closest to my house. Crap. This means I have to go across town.

Ok, let’s see if my bike makes it. Maybe. I hope so.

Driving on empty makes me a little nervous —I don’t do it often. But last night I drove home from the airport after midnight and all the stations were closed. Bali is especially peaceful in the wee hours of the morning. Everyone is in bed dreaming.

By the time I leave my house in the morning, I’ve moved around enough for the dust particles of ash to fall off my arm, naturally. For some reason, this very morning they stayed on, naturally.

Funny how certain days feel more pivotal than the rest. A mark or memory of some sort of threshold or initiation. Life is but a series of interior thresholds and inner initiations, isn’t it?

Throughout the day, some people asked, “What’s that?” “Is that paint?”

“It’s ash. It means tripundra.” It was nice to share a little piece of what it means and why I do it.

It reminded me of this one day when I used to live in Echo Park. I had to run downstairs from my flat in the midst of practicing, to meet a friend downstairs by the entrance. My friend’s girlfriend was in the car and we had yet to meet one another.

(Photo: Flickr)

“You have something on your forehead, she said. It looks like dirt.”

“Oh, that’s kumkum. It’s for my third eye.”

She gave me a weird look.

My friend—her boyfriend—comes in.

“It’s a yoga thing.”

It was a really sweet exchange. I’ll never forget it. Anything to honor and remember. Om Namah Shivaya.

(Photo: Flickr)

So what is this tripundra?

The three horizontal lines of sacred ash worn on the body? It represents the soul’s consciousness of the three bonds, the three malas: anava, karma, and maya.

The one who wears this symbol is one who strives to be released from these bonds. It’s a reminder of the temporary and relative nature of the physical body to strive for spiritual closeness with—well, there’s no better way to say it—God.

(Photo: Flickr)

Worn by devotees of Lord Shiva and Devi Shakti and of all the different forms and manifestations of Maha, it burns away all that gets in the way of Truth and Clear Insight and Perception.

Om Namah Shivaya.

I’ll be talking more in depth about this in my public classes starting in March at Taksu Yoga and Moving Arts in Bali. It’s time to practice! Let’s get our truth and clarity on. I’m looking forward to sharing my practice with all of you. Om Namah Shivaya! Jaya Jaya Mahadev!

Faithfully yours,

Your friend, the old school mystic modern day livin’ Shaivite Tantrika.

~

Editor: Kate Bartolotta.

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About Chloe Park

Chloe Park is an Artist, Spiritual Teacher, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Holistic Healing Practitioner, Life Coach, Women's Empowerment Leader, Social Change Activist and Ethnobotanist. A traveling Healer and Teacher, she roams the Earth to share her message: unconditional love, self-healing and awakening. She uses the medium of writing, holistic healing, medicinal plants, yoga and meditation to help all those along the Path to attain harmony with mind, body and spirit. She is devoted to facilitating the space for Healing, Love and Truth and is passionate about bringing ancient practices and traditions into the modern times we live. Her intention with her writing is to offer Q&A for all those who are engaged in the dialogue.
Chloe also writes for MindBodyGreen, Healthline, WorldLifestyle, and Yahoo Shine!. To stay connected with her current projects, retreats, teachings and traveling schedule, find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/chloeparkhealing or visit her website: www.chloeparkhealing.com. Spiritual counseling and life coaching sessions with Chloe are available via Skype. May we all wake up together. ॐ